13.1.......

Yes, I did it, I ran a half marathon. I think it was one of the hardest things I have ever done but it was amazing, and I would do it again.

The journey of running has been a long one for me. I was always the one in junior high and high school who couldn't run the whole mile around the track, I was always last. But I have learned that it is not about being fast, it is just about finishing something. Running is a complete mental game and a self test. I started in the spring and my first goal was the 5K. After I did the 5K I knew I would be able to run the 5 mile race on the 4th of July. After I did that I started to wonder what else I was capable of. My friend Kari mentioned doing a half, she was so persistent and very good at convincing me that I could do it, and I believed her. So I did it, I made a chart using Hal Higdon's guide, taped it on my door, and I stuck to it every day, I would run what Hal told me to do, even if I felt like I was going to die. It was amazing to go from a 5 mile long run to a 5 mile short run.

The journey did more for me than I can express. I am in better shape than I have ever been in my life. I am wearing pants that I have not fit into for 8 years. I have discovered some great friendships, I am learning more about myself every time I hit the pavement. I have learned how important it is to have support. I could not have done this without my hubby telling me to keep going. I could not have made it without Sara meeting me at 5 a.m. so we could run before our men left for work. I could not have done it without Hillary and Maime driving from Lakewood so we could do our long runs together. I could not have done it without Kari checking up on me each week. I could not have done it without La La....oh La La. Your e-mails and phone calls inspired me all of the time. Thank you for believing in me so much, there are no words, I love you.

The day finally came for the 13.1 down in Cincinnati (the only half in OH that was not on a Sunday). We walked out of the hotel and then it hit me, it was only 32 degrees!! I was wearing capris and a tank top and I have never run in temps that low!! I was freezing my bootie off and there was nothing I could do about it, so I just ran. For the first few miles I could not feel my hands and couldn't even put my head phones in, I couldn't feel where the hole in my ear was! The mile marker I remember the most was 7, it was over half way, but still so far to go. Seriously, 13.1 miles is a LONG way! At mile 11 I heard my name and I thought I was mental, loosing my mind from being so cold and tired. But then I heard it again. I walked through the water station and heard it again, I turned around and there was Sara. I couldn't believe it, but I knew she was there to help me make it to the end without stopping. We ran the rest of the way together, and it was so hard. I loved seeing the old men speed walkers pass me, I laughed at myself, and didn't care, I was doing it.

As we approached the finish I could hear the cheers and the music of the bands, then we turned the corner and I saw Andy and the kids, the tears just started coming. I don't know why, but it was such an emotional moment for me. I am so lucky to have such amazing children and an amazing husband. It was great to cross the finish line and to know that I finished what I set out to do.


Sara and I coming to the end when we saw our families, yep, when the tears came.


The gang. From left: Chad, Kari, Maime, Shay, Hillary, Sara


My medal and me.


Maime and I.


Hillary, Me, Sara. Thank you girls for your everyday support and constant friendship.

So there it is, the run down of my first race. I don't think the next one will be quite as emotional and life changing, I am just looking to improve my time and run in warmer weather. Who knows one day I might succome to the pressure of Lauren and Sara to do a marathon, who knows......

Mystery Reader.....

So for Kindergarten they ask the parents to come in and surprise their children and read stories to the class. This year Carlee had no idea that it was going to be Andy, and I was so surprised at her reaction to seeing him. She was literally hanging on him, and she would not stop touching him the entire time, it was so cute. Andy chose to read Pinkalisious and Santa's Stuck. The kids were so cute and good at paying attention, but really it was just so cute to see Carlee beaming.


Reading some books.


I have never seen this girl cling to him so much.

Bleeding Red Birthday for Andy....

Happy Birthday to Andy Bush, I cannot believe that you are getting closer to 40!! (j/k) This year Andy's birthday was crazy because he has been working so much, so I tried to make it as special as I could. He had meetings in the morning, but as soon as he got home in the afternoon, I surprised him with a babysitter and we went to see a movie. I told him we were going to see The Help, but really we went and saw Moneyball. Then we came home and got the kiddos and went to wings, Andy's favorite place. The greatest part of his birthday was his tickets to the U vs. Pitt football game that was in Pittsburgh. I got a ticket for he and Porter to go, a little father son time.


The morning before the game, they were properly dressed and Porter made an awesome sign.


I love the socks.


My cute boys at the game.




So Happy Birthday to the most amazing man I know. Andy you amaze me all of the time with your ability to be so good to us. We all love you.

Carlee turns 6......

I just cannot believe that my chunky monkey is 6 years old. I have having such a hard time with it that I only put 5 candles on her birthday cake!!

We had a wonderful day planned for Carlee and it started with a special surprise. I can't stress enough this girls love for animals and especially horses. I took her to the Holly Hill Farm down the road for a private horseback riding lesson. She was so excited when she realized what was going on, she could hardly stay in her seat.

Carlee's horse was names Dunny, short for Just Done Right. He was a cute horse, just the right size for Car. It was a great experience, Carlee got to do everything brushing the horse to putting the saddle on, I was so surprised. Something that I love so much about Carlee is her eagerness to learn and her willingness to try new things, she just has no fear.


Here she is getting Dunny ready.




Me and my horse






Taking the saddle off


Love this pic of this girl, she has the sweetest heart.


Me and my girl.

After school we had her her best friend Wes over for the cake and presents.


She made an odd request for an ice cream cake! So I had to add something to it, ponies it is.


Look at how the candles are placed, good job Andy.

So overall I would say it definitely was a great day for a great girl. Love you Carlee!!

9 months and counting....

Last week Andy and I had a great opportunity to fly back west to Klamath Falls, Oregon for a site interview. As of right now, I don't know what we are doing, but everything about the visit was wonderful. It was a great, small town, and a place we would be very happy to live. Andy was offered the position, so now we are just putting are ducks in a row, and trying to figure out what is best for us and the kids. We have 9 months until he is done with residency and things with us are in full swing, it is both stressful and exciting, but also just the next step for us.


The hospital


Lake of the Woods is just 25 minutes down the road.


Andy and I at the lake, and I have decided that we need a new couple pose for pics.


Gorgeous!!

None of this could have happened without Andy's amazing mother KayLee who came out and watched all 4 of the kids so we could go and do this alone, another thank you to her!!

When we got back we had a few more days with Grandma before she left and were so excited that she got to go to the homecoming parade with us, it is always so fun.


Getting the candy, and I love the Bay Village Rocket, it is so cool.




Oh man, look at how cute this girl is. And she lost her second tooth, Grandma helped pull it out!


Marin in the middle of her talking, it is hilarious.


Porter and his loot. He got some serious candy!!

Estrogen Day (a triathlon and Country Living Fair).....

For about nine months I have been planning on a doing a sprint triathlon with my friends Jill and Hillary, all the talk, anxiety, and gear planning is over. It was a great day, we met up early at Jill's and drove down to Akron together. I was lucky to have KayLee here from Utah so she came with me (which was awesome because she has never been to any of my races). Once we got signed in, markered on, and set up our transition area, it was time to walk down to the start. Jill and I are pretty equivalent for swim times, so were started next to each other! The swim was good, pretty tough and Jill and I kept bumping into a lady who started herself to soon (she was slower), so that was annoying. Then it was onto the bike. The course was just two laps, but mostly uphill, my legs were on fire. After I hopped off my bike I had to get into running mode. It was so cold that day, I felt like I was barely moving and frozen all over, I honestly couldn't tell if I was moving or not. The run was on gravel, a partial trail run, and thankfully it was marked clearly! It was a good experience and felt good to be doing something that I was familiar with.

I have to give special props to Jill and Hillary. Jill for sticking it out and going for it, doing something she had never done before and finishing it!! And to Hill, who does not enjoy swimming at all, who started way after me, and who passed a ton of people, only to finish a minute after me!! These girls are amazing (thanks for the motivation ladies!) Here are the tri pics....


Me, Hillary, Jill just arriving at Portage Lakes State Park in Akron. (and yeah I am rocking my Utah sweatshirt for the Utah vs. BYU game that night, I don't need to say anymore on that.)


Walking down to the swim.


Waiting our turn to get in the water.


Getting ready to get on the bike.


Running, I think.....it was so cold!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


All DONE!!


The ladies after we had all finished.

After the tri, I plugged in the gps and KayLee and I drove two hours to Columbus for the Country Living Fair. I have wanted to go to this every year since we have moved here, but haven't been able to with Andy's work schedule, but this was my last chance, so I had to make it happen. I don't know that I have ever been to a craft event quite this big, but it was wonderful. Overall it was worth going and seeing what it was all about and the food there was amazing!! But I have to say that people are crazy about what they charge for stuff, like aprons and skirts for $90, HELLO, does it automatically make you a size 2 when you put it on, yeah, I didn't think so. The thing that I left there still thinking about was a quilt kit for that they were charging $120 for, which really was a good price with everything you got, but there is no way Andy would ever understand that. Maybe one day I can track it down or do layaway or something. KayLee did buy me a blue mason jar, they are so cute and I have some flowers in it right now, oh and I bought myself a CLF t-shirt that I love.

It was a great day. I loved being with my girls and also being able to spend the day with KayLee, we always make some good memories and have good laughs (remember the lady we sat and had lunch with KayLee!!)


The fair is at the Ohio historical society, the building there are so awesome!


The pumpkins made me excited for fall.


Getting ready to leave with full hands!

Warrior Dash....

It started like this in an e-mail from Andy "Shay, sign us up. I would love to do this and it is only 2 hours away from our house. Call some of your friends and see if they want to do it with us. Love you."

So being a loving and supportive wife, I did what Andy asked, and I signed us up. I also e-mailed a bunch of people, and should have realized it was a bad sign when no one else wanted to do it with us. But I have wanted to do some sort of race with Andy for a while so I jumped at the chance.

Here is the link of the race we participated in.

We got to the race site and it was crazy, there were people everywhere and they were covered in mud. I knew I was in for that, but I didn't fully understand the extent of the race, the hills, the heights, the level of difficulty. I don't know the last time I was that scared and I remember thinking during the race that it was the hardest thing I have ever done. Now that it is all said and done, I am not sure about that, I think I would do it again, just not by choice. Overall the race was fun and Andy was amazing and helped me through the whole thing. If it was not for him I probably would still be up on the 40 foot rope climbing wall. Here are some pics....






A view of the whole set up.


Our clothes in the trunk, they were so nasty!


The parking lot. We were literally in the middle of nowhere.


Andy and I in the car on the way home.

Some of the obstacles we had to do were running up giant hills covered in mud up to my ankles, swim over giant logs, up another hill and through more terrible mud, climb up and over the 40 foot rope, jump up into and back out of giant metal garbage cans, tire jumping, another wall with ropes, tire dodging, climb across a spiderman type net, walk a across a series of plank, up over wood walls and under barbed wire 5 times, another huge 30 ft wall that I said I would not do but decided to do and then I almost peed my pants when I saw the other side and how there was no wall, only ropes, and then there were more hills and I was dying, we jumped over fire, then swan through the mud pit, and crossed the finish line!! I think I covered it all. Wow, going back and thinking about it is quite scary, I cannot believe I did it.

I would also like to ad here that Andy is a serious stud. He is so strong and fast and he has no fear. I know it was killing him to go so slow with me, but he never left me. And after doing that he has decided to train for this beast. I know he's crazy, but I love him.